Natasha Poonawalla shared this image. (courtesy: natasha.poonawalla)
New Delhi:
When Alia Bhatt hosts an event, it’s bound to be a star-studded affair. At the Hope Gala in London, which was organised to help the Salaam Bombay Foundation raise funds for underprivileged children, Alia’s celeb friends turned up in large numbers. Of course, businesswoman Natasha Poonawalla was there. Natasha wore a multi-hued lehenga designed by fashion maestro Manish Malhotra. In the caption, she wrote, “I was so proud to join my brilliant change-making friend Alia Bhatt, for an evening dedicated to The Salaam Bombay Foundation. Access to education should be a right, not a privilege. It will always be an honour and personal mission to support and work with organisations who are committed to transforming the lives of children through education and confidence building, ensuring that they can have the best possible start in life and a promising future.”
Natasha Poonawalla added, “Thank you Alia Bhatt for including me, Salaam Bombay Foundation for your dedication to this urgent cause and Mandarin Oriental for hosting such an important event.”
Thanking Manish Malhotra for designing her incredible outfit, Natasha Poonawalla said, “Always with the aim of spotlighting and honouring the best of creativity, I was overjoyed to be wearing a breathtaking signature Phulkari ensemble designed by the one and only Manish Malhotra. This masterpiece, which showcases the mastery of Indian fashion, craft and design, was intricately created over 3800 hours, and represents the rich history of this art form originating from Punjab and showcases its journey to international recognition.”
Responding to Natasha Poonawalla’s post, Alia Bhatt wrote, “Stunner,” and dropped some back heart emojis. Manish Malhotra reacted with black hearts.
In her speech at the charity event, Alia Bhatt said, “Speaking of stars, Padmini (Sekhsaria), thank you for giving us the Salaam Bombay Foundation. No, genuinely, looking at your work, in the last couple of years that we have worked together, I don’t know how you do it so easily, and you make it all look so effortless and nonchalant. The way you and your team work is so inspiring and we, people like us, feel very small in front of the way you contribute to society. But if all of us make a small contribution, it will make a large impact, the way you made, I think we’ll all consider ourselves fortunate. Thank you so much.”
A fan page shared the video with the text, “Alia Bhatt for HOPE GALA event in London (charity event that aims to help Salaam Bombay)”
Check it out:
On the work front, Alia Bhatt was last seen in Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani with Ranveer Singh. Her next film is Jigra with Vedang Raina. The film will be directed by Vasan Bala who is known for movies like Mard Ko Dard Nehi Hota and Monica, O My Darling.